This season’s MVP race is shaping up to be the best one in quite some time. The perceived top five candidates this season – James Harden, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook – represent the top five in PER, three of the top five in win shares and lead the NBA in nearly two dozen major statistical categories. We’re pretty well covered with MVP rankings on this site with Sheridan’s regular updates, and other staffers have chimed in
Aside from the expected festivities, the Dunk Contest, Three-Point Contest, Skills Challenge, BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge and the All-Star game, the NBA All-Star weekend brings with it ample time to either rest or stay busy with promotional opportunities. While many will be resting for the second half of the season, a number of NBA athletes are choosing the latter, opting to do a number various promotional activities. Atlanta Hawks power forward Paul Millsap stopped by the Samsung Soho Studio to meet
There can, at times, be a rather contentious relationship between the media and the superstars that it covers. Some times, it may be warranted. Others, perhaps not so much. Former ESPN NBA writer Chris Palmer seems to have earned the ire of Kevin Durant over the years, in large part for his polarizing opinions. Tuesday, Palmer had another opinion to share. [Read more…]
When you’re already a proven NBA superstar, improvement usually comes in subtle ways. For Houston Rockets star James Harden, his ascent into the MVP conversation (it’s essentially a two-man race at this point between he and Stephen Curry, unless Anthony Davis’ New Orleans Pelicans make the playoffs) has come from a slight improvement across and board and an understanding that league MVPs are, and always will be, two-way players. The Rockets have had to rely on Harden this year more than
Steve Nash is known for a lot of things. Of course he was a two-time, back-to-back NBA MVP from 2004-05 and 2005-06, has led the NBA in assists per game in multiple seasons, and has the League’s best free throw shooting percentage of all time. That’s not enough for Nash. He might want to be known for even more than that. Obviously, it will have to come off the court, since he’s out the entire year with a nerve issue in
After having missed the playoffs for the past four-straight seasons—ever since four-time NBA MVP LeBron James left home for the warm beaches of Miami to join Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and the Heat, and after surprisingly good luck in the past two NBA draft lotteries gifted the Cleveland Cavaliers with back-to-back top-overall picks, there may have been little hope for any monumental improvement entering the summer of 2014. That was, of course, before James made the decision to go home, rejoining
Whether you’re a die hard or casual NBA fan, you know who Kevin Durant is. He’s the reigning MVP from last season, and just about everyone has seen and loved his MVP Trophy speech. It was his first MVP award, earning it after he helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a two-seed in the Western Conference. Durant proved he was the only choice for the award after fellow All-Star teammate Russell Westbrook missed more than 30 games. Throughout that stretch,
Thursdays on Twitter are typically when everyone posts pictures from something from their past. The trend is called “Throwback Thursday” or “#TBT.” NBA athletes are not excluded from participation, as many often post old photographs, sometimes from their childhood, high school or college. Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love, who is said to be joining the Cleveland Cavaliers as soon as Andrew Wiggins is eligible to be traded on August 23rd, posted a photo from his high school days. Just prior to the big